eating cheese soufflé

One of my earliest memories of life in France, is culinary!  No surprise there!   I  was in France as a young girl on a school exchange, and one Sunday we visited the home of my penfriend's grandmother.  Sunday lunch, tall forbidding house, beautiful antique furntiture and a maid to serve at the table.  I felt quite nervous.

We, the children, were ushered into the garden while the grown-ups talked inside and probably enjoyed an aperitif before the meal.    I remember vividly that there was suddenly a flurry of activity and my penfirend said "quick quick we have to go to table straight away, we cannot keep the cheese soufflé waiting!"

"Cannot keep the souffle waiting??!! "  I didn't even know what a soufflé was, let alone understand why it was so revered!

We hurried into the huge dark dining room at sat at a table that seemed to be a mile long.  The austere grandmother at the head of the table.  Hardly anyone spoke.  The door pushed open and in came the cook carrying LE SOUFFLE!  There were groans of pleasure and anticipation from around the table, followed by a long, typically French, discussion about the best cheese to use, how long it should be cooked for, the risk of the soufflé 'sinking' as the cook trotted up the corridor from the kitchen ....

This to me was a new world where priorities were different to those I had grown up with.  It was just the beginning of a lifelong fascination with French living.

Cheese soufflé remains one of my very favourite dishes.  Served as a first course for a dinner with friends, or with a salad for a lunchtime snack with a girlfriend, it is delicious.

Here is my favourite recipe, you are welcome to try.  I'd love to hear what you think.

For 4 people you will need

almost 3 cups of grated cheese

pinch nutmeg
1 clove garlic

5 eggs

1/4 cup butter

good 1/3 cup flour

1  1/4 cups milk

Butter your baking mould, or moulds if you want to make individual souffles.  Dust lightly with flour.

1 hour before serving time, melt the 1/4 cup butter in a heavy pan and add the flour, stir for a minute.  Pour the milk in little by little, stirring all the time.  Add the pressed garlicm the nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Add the grated cheese, don't stop stirring.  When all the cheese is melted and everything well mixed in, you can turn the heat off and leave the mixture to cool a little.

50 minutes before serving time (I told you this was a precison dish!)  heat your oven to 180C (gas mark 4).  Add the yolks of the eggs to the mixture, making sure they are thoroughly blended in.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.   Add two spoons of egg white to the mixture and beat in well.  This is just to loosen the mixture a little.  Add the remainder of the egg whites, turning the mixture gently to keep as much air trapped as possible.

40 minutes before serving time, pour all the mixture into the prepared mould or moulds.  Pop straight into the oven.     If you are cooking individual souffles then cook for about 30 minutes, for a large souffle cook for 40 minutes.    If you have a glass window to your oven door you'll see the souffle rise above the edge of the mould.  Resist opening the oven door during cooking!

They should sound hollow when tapped on the top, but still move a little in the centre, you don't want a souffle that has dried out! 

Just before serving make sure everyone is sitting down and ready.  You want them to appreciate the risen golden brown crust to the souffle and sigh with delight as you cut into it to serve!

Bon appetit mes amis!